Wednesday 22 Feb 2012 Pharmacy Daily Wednesday 22nd February 2012 T 1300 799 220 W www.pharmacydaily.com.au page 1 MORE INFORMATION: Contact David Patton m: 0432 515 717 AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST WHOLESALER PBS DISCOUNT 6.25% AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST Rx GENERICS DISCOUNTS 100% AUSTRALIA’S LOWEST MEMBERSHIP FEE/MONTH $99 AUSTRALIA’S BEST OTC SUPPLIER DISCOUNTS TOP + 10% NO GROUP CAN OFFER YOU ALL OF THESE BENEFITS! Visit us at APP Stand 188 In what country was Innoxa born? PD PD PD PD PD has teamed up with Inno Inno Inno Inno Innoxa xa xa xa xa this week and is giving five lucky readers the chance to win a prize pack, which includes an Innoxa Nail Polish Plush Velvet and an Innoxa Classic Colour Lipstick in Dewberry (pictured to the left). Innoxa’s NEW Classic Colour Lipstick range is inspired by beautiful, wearable, everyday shades for a smooth natural looking pout. The NEW Innoxa Nail Polishes boast a quick to dry and long lasting formula that is formaldehyde free. To win, simply be the first person to send through the correct answer to the question below to: comp@pharmac comp@pharmac comp@pharmac comp@pharmac comp@pharmacydail ydail ydail ydail ydaily.com.au .com.au .com.au .com.au .com.au WIN AN INNOXA PRIZE PACK Congratulations to yesterday’s lucky winner, Ghazal Ghazal Ghazal Ghazal Ghazal Ghodosi Ghodosi Ghodosi Ghodosi Ghodosi of Choice Pharmac Choice Pharmac Choice Pharmac Choice Pharmac Choice Pharmacy y y y y Townsville ownsville ownsville ownsville ownsville. New medicines on the PBS THE Government has agreed to fund nine new medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme including Astra Zeneca’s Brilinta (ticagrelor) for acute coronary syndrome; GlaxoSmithKline’s antibiotic Zinnat (cefuroxime axetil); and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Sprycel (dasatinib) for chronic myeloid leukaemia. Other drugs to be listed include: Novartis’ Tasigna (nilotinib) for chronic myeloid leukaemia; Pfizer’s anti-coagulant Fragmin (dalteparin sodium); GSK’s Flolan (epoprostenol sodium) for pulmonary arterial hypertension, as well as its pain management treatment Kapanol (morphine sulphate). Roche Products’ juvenile arthritis drug Actemra (tocilizumab) has also been PBS listed, as well as Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Orencia (abatacept) for rheumatoid arthritis. The Government has not yet announced a date when the drugs will be available on the PBS, but it has however allayed fears that the process will take years, saying the drugs will be PBS available “in the coming months”. “The PBS listings are subject to final arrangements being met by the suppliers of the medicines before they can be listed,” said Health Minister Tanya Plibersek. Speaking in the wake of the announcement Medicines Australia said it was “encouraged by the Government’s commitment to making these medicines available”. “If this is a return to business as usual by the Government it is very welcome,” said Medicines Australia Chief Executive Brendan Shaw. “However, the Government does not yet have a clean slate with listing new medicines on the PBS. “Having gone through the TGA process, the PBAC process, the PBPA process and the Cabinet process, the anti-stroke medicine Pradaxa is now being made to go through another unanticipated hurdle: the anti-coagulant review process. “I urge the Government to conduct this review as quickly as possible given Pradaxa was first considered by Cabinet in September 2010,” he added. AstraZeneca has also welcomed the announcement, saying that the listing of Brilinta will benefit around 60,000 Australians, and that the drug provides an important new treatment option for clinicians in reducing the risk of cardiovascular deaths and recurrent events in patients with ACS (heart attacks and unstable angina). MEANWHILE the Government has also agreed to increase the price of 17 medicines currently listed on the PBS, in line with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Pricing Authority’s recommendations made in December last year. The price increases come into effect on 01 April and will not affect concessional patients which constitute around 80% of PBS prescriptions. For a full list of affected drugs see www.pbs.gov.au. Atorvastatin generic RANBAXY has announced that the first generic of atorvastatin in Australia, Trovas (atorvastatin calcium trihydrate), will be available to order by Aussie pharmacies this week. Listed on the PBS from 01 April, Trovas is available to order now due to an agreement between Ranbaxy and Pfizer in 2008 which enabled Ranbaxy’s atorvastatin molecule to be launched from 19 Feb 2012, only a few months after the US release in Nov 2011. As such, Trovas is available in 10, 20, 40 and 80mg strengths in blister and bottle packs of 30’s and in 100’s, with bottles packaged to clearly differentiate between strengths. To celebrate the launch, Ranbaxy is offering a Launch Price Offer, saying “there are no delayed rebates” and “no hiding behind previously earned credits in order to make our price look good”. For details call 1800 726 229. Counterfeit injections THE US FDA has warned of medical clinics in the US importing a counterfeit version of Avastin (bevacizumab). According to the FDA, the fake does not contain Avastin’s active ingredient, comes in 400mg/16ml vials, is said to include French and Arabic lettering on the packs and have batch numbers that start with B6010, B6011 or B86017. At present the TGA has not received any reports of similar counterfeit Avastin vials being found in Australia. APP2012 registrations ONLINE registration for the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s APP2012 closes on 01 March 2012. To register online before the cut off go to www.appconference.com. See p3 of today’s Pharmacy Daily for details. Established since 1987 WANT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE FOR YOUR PHARMACY? www.ravens.com.au [email protected] Visit us at the APP Stand 217 Selling your pharmacy takes planning and there are a number of things that you need to have in place for a smoother sale. Consider some of the following *Lease * Stock * P & L’s Want to know more? Phone 1800 670 440 Click here to see our current pharmacies for Sale